Black Butler: Book of Roses
by Lordius Dannius
Summary: (Set after Black Butler II) Ciel finds life as a demon dull and repetitive so demands Sebastian to tell him a story about another human who also became a demon. Sebastian agrees to tell the tale but the story he tells reveals many secrets regarding Sebastian and why he is the way he is, and it also explains the feuds between himself and other individuals...
1. Prologue

_**Black Butler: Book of Roses**_

 **~Prologue~**

Ciel sat in the study with a bored expression on his face. Being a demon was dull. Nothing would change. Sebastian would serve him for all eternity, but already he was bored.

Sebastian entered the study with a grim expression on his face. "Nothing worth your time has appeared in the local news today, my lord," he informed, bowing before him. "There are no mysterious disappearances, no murders and no suspicious events. Should I have Bardroy prepare you a meal? A feast, perhaps?"

"No," Ciel answered sharply. "That's exactly what you did last week every single day."

Sebastian's red eyes narrowed subtly as he gazed glumly at his master. "Would you prefer it if I changed your schedule?" he asked. "It has been quite a while since you had your meetings and lessons."

Ciel held his hand to his head, frustrated. "Sebastian," he began. "Is this what it is like to be a demon? Does life honestly become so dull and repetitive?"

The demon butler gave him an odd look. "Not quite, my lord," he responded. "I have lived for thousands of years and I have not been bored once. Patience is something demons are born with, you see, so we find pleasure in watching the world slowly change."

"You were born a demon," Ciel pointed out. "Am I not still human at heart? Unlike you I do not have the patience to sit and watch the world change at the turn of every century."

"You will adapt to the changes, my lord," Sebastian assured. "While it is uncommon for a human to become a demon, the human-born demons do still grow used to their bodies."

"Hmph," Ciel huffed. "You know that, do you?"

"Yes," Sebastian confirmed rather sternly. "I have known many demons who once lived human lives. In fact, I myself have had the pleasure of turning a human into a demon."

Ciel raised a brow. "You have?" he asked monotonously. Sebastian nodded his head once.

"Another human soul which I patiently waited for," he described, discreetly digging at the fact that Ciel wasn't the first soul to be promised to him before being ruined by demonic conversion. "The event is quite recent to me; it all occurred around five hundred years ago."

Ciel leaned back in his chair, intrigued. "Why don't you tell me about this demon?" he requested. Sebastian frowned.

"Come, my lord, if I chose to tell you such a story, we would surely be here all day," he warned. Ciel only smirked slightly.

"I don't see how that is a problem," he responded. "If I'm going to become a demon with patience, I would like to put myself to the test by enduring one of your stories."

Sebastian frowned a little, but then closed his eyes and smiled almost evilly to himself. "I suppose the story could be considered interesting," he mused. "Very well, young master. But, if I may ask you, why is it that you are so interested to hear about this demon?"

"Is it not obvious?" Ciel scoffed. "I want to know how another human lived as a demon. And I want to see if I can gain any personal knowledge about you; perhaps some of the details from this story can be used to hurt you."

Ciel was a cruel child who had always found it fun to mock Sebastian, but now as a demon he had become much worse. Sebastian frowned at his smirking young master before letting out a sigh, approaching the earl's desk and removing a black rose from the vase. He blew on it as if blowing out a candle, and the petals turned bright red.

"You cannot find red roses in my realm," the butler informed. "Only black."

"Get on with it, Sebastian," Ciel grunted impatiently. Sebastian smirked a little.

"You lack patience, young master," he teased. Ciel scowled at him, his one visible eye glowing red.

"Do not test me, Sebastian," he threatened. Sebastian did not feel intimidated whatsoever.

"I have lived for thousands of years," he repeated, placing the new red rose back in the vase of black roses. "Not once have I felt threatened by a demon. Nothing has been able to threaten me."

"Perhaps I'll be the first to make you feel fear," Ciel said. Sebastian kept his smirk on his face.

"I doubt that very much, my lord," he responded. "Now then, what wold you like to know about this demon?"

"Everything," Ciel demanded. "Who were they? How long did they live for? What were they like? How were they reborn as a demon?"

Sebastian chuckled softly. "I never thought I'd have to repeat these events to anybody," he thought out loud. "But then again, I suppose I didn't expect to be trapped in servitude for eternity." The butler approached the large window and gaze out of it thoughtfully, his hands behind his back and his smug smirk still on his face. But suddenly his smirk faded.

"Years ago I served a couple living in a foreign land," he began. "They were both Japanese. In Medieval England anyone could be accused of witchcraft, and so they were executed. I could not feast upon their souls, so they promised a third soul to me: their newborn daughter. However, I could only devour her soul during her time of death. My duty was to protect her until that day came, so I took the form of an orphaned teenage boy who had been cared for by my former masters, Daisuke and Sayaka. I would tell their daughter that I had been adopted by her parents before her birth, convincing her that we were siblings without relation. For fourteen years I starved myself until I could satisfy my hunger with that girl's soul, but on the day of her death, circumstances had changed."

Ciel looked even more intrigued. "I wonder why," he mused. Sebastian turned to face him, hands now at his side.

"I will tell you now, my lord," he announced. "Although to make the story convenient, I shall use names you are familiar with."

"So you will refer to yourself as Sebastian even if you went by a different name?" Ciel queried.

"Yes," Sebastian answered. "And Claude Faustus will be referred to as Claude Faustus."

"Claude?" Ciel reacted, perking up a little. "Why is he relevant?"

Sebastian felt like he had the upper hand now. "You will find out," he told him, holding a finger to his own lips as he smiled smugly. "I'd rather not spoil the story, young master."

Ciel slumped back into his chair and sighed irritably. "Very well, then at least tell me the name of the human child so that the story doesn't start off sounding poetic or mysterious," he ordered.

"Of course, my lord," Sebastian replied, his smile seeming cheerful for a moment, most likely appearing like that in order to infuriate the young earl. "Her name was Batora Jigoku."

 **~End of Prologue~**


	2. Chapter I

**~Chapter I~**

The late thirteen hundreds is where this story shall begin. Fourteen years had passed since the deaths of my former masters, Daisuke and Sayaka Jigoku. Their daughter, Batora, had only recently turned fourteen. She had always been a rather peculiar young lady; for years she, like her parents, had been accused of witchcraft. Every day the children living in her village would throw rocks at her or push her into the muck. "Your parents were witches," they would yell. "You're a witch, too!"

Nobody had ever seen a young girl originating from Asia. Not many people were able to reach England from foreign lands. But her Asian heritage was not the only thing seen as odd; you see, young master, Batora was born with green eyes. Even in the Asian lands green eyes were highly uncommon.

One afternoon Batora ran to our little hut, covered in dirt. The village boys had been throwing rocks at her again, and I could even see a bruise upon her forehead proving that they had succeeded in causing her great harm. I frowned upon seeing her like this, kneeling down and placing my hands on her shoulders as any good brother would.

"My dear sister," I said. "You are bloody and bruised. Come now, let me bathe you."

Only then did I notice that she cradled something in her arms. I curiously gazed at it and moved my hands, attempting to remove what she was holding and hold it myself. But her grip on it tightened as she took a step back, protecting whatever it was. I remained confused and curious, standing myself up as I looked my dear sister in the eye.

"What are you hiding from me?" I asked her. She lowered her head as if ashamed, but she would never lie to me; after all, not one soul has ever succeeded in deceiving me. It took her a few moments to answer, but not with words. She held out her arms, showing what she had been attempting to hide from me. I was rather surprised myself to see that Batora had brought a kitten into the hut. A black one.

"They were throwing rocks at it," Batora told me. The sadness was evident in her pure voice. "They hurt it, Sebastian. I wanted to help it. Please... Can you help me make it better?"

I examined the feline. It was so incredibly helpless and pathetic, but as a good brother to her I had to obey her commands. So in response to her words, I nodded my head. "Of course," I said. "Let's bring him inside and keep him warm; I will see to any of his injuries."

Batora went and picked a small fish from the many I had bought at the market a few days prior. Meanwhile, I was sitting on the ground next to a small fire which I lit to keep the kitten warm. I cleaned the blood from its paws and tended to its head trauma, wrapping it in some linen cloth and laying it down so that it may rest. Batora lay down a bowl of water and the fish; she did not take her eyes off that kitten, not once. I had to run some errands, and upon my return I found Batora sitting with the little black kitten in her arms. It was awake and it had eaten, so it seemed that my healing had been successful once again; I had become rather familiar with treating injured creatures, human or not.

I sat beside Batora and watched as she bonded with the kitten. They were two unfortunate creatures associated with black magic simply because of how they looked, so I could understand why they grew attached to one another.

Batora smiled and held up the kitten to me. "Here," she said. "Hold him. He's very soft." Naturally I fear no animals so I took the kitten and held it in my hands, but as I began to stroke it it chose to bite my hand. I was, for once, surprised; I had never tried to use my charms on a cat before, but I assumed that they would work. It became clear that cats were immune to supernatural powers. They were superior. It's no wonder that they became the famous creature associated with witchcraft.

"Oh dear!" Batora gasped, taking the kitten from my hands. "I'm so sorry, Sebastian, I had no idea he would do that!" I simply smiled at her.

"It's alright," I replied. "I'm a stranger to him; he must be afraid."

"Maybe so," Batora agreed, cradling the kitten close to her chest. "The poor thing... Why would anyone hurt such a defenseless creature?"

"For the same reason they hurt you," I replied. "They hear rumours. Black cats are a curse. Batora Jigoku is a witch. Everyone chooses to believe these rumours, so they resort to harming those who have been accused."

I could see a sad look appear in Batora's eyes. She felt such sympathy towards the kitten, and my words had made her uncomfortable; she did not like being reminded of why people hurt her. I knew that a good brother would never upset their sibling, so I said nothing more and instead chose to change the subject. I smiled kindly at her as I spoke. "Why not give him a name?" Batora looked up at me with her pure and innocent green eyes before she smiled and nodded her head.

"I will," she replied. "I'll give him a name." She tickled the kitten's ear as she muttered to herself, trying to think of the perfect name before gasping and looking up at me once again. "I've got it!" she exclaimed with joy. "Umbra!"

A name any black cat would be proud of, no doubt, but giving such a dark name to an animal in those days was fatal, especially for a girl who had already been labeled as a witch. Although, she lived over a hundred years prior to the beginning of the infamous witch hunts, and I was confident that I would be able to protect Batora from harm. However, things did not go according to plan.

Batora would take good care of Umbra and would leave the hut less frequently, leaving me to run all of the errands. However, in later months I encountered a rather interesting man who spoke in the village square. Most of the villages had crowded around him, so I decided to listen to what he was saying.

"This village is infected," he spoke loudly. "Infected with evil and impurity. The devil has a servant living among you; that servant may even be listening to my words right now."

At his side I could see a young woman with white hair tied into two pigtails. Her skin was pale and her eyes were violet. Her gown itself was as white as it could be. Anyone would be right to say she looked like an angel, for she truly was one.

The woman then stepped forward and spoke to the mass gathering of people. "My friends," she began. "I am Cassandra Nomed and I act on behalf of the Creator. A demon is living among you, and no doubt he has corrupted those he acts close to. This village must be cleansed; we must find this demon and any of his followers. They must all be eliminated."

I was rather irritated at this angel's presence, along with her master, who went by the name of Sir Thomas Hopkins. But I maintained my confidence, for not even angels could find demons so easily. Not without proof, of course.

Without drawing much attention to myself, I chose to walk away and return to my little home. Batora was still there, taking care of her growing cat. She smiled upon seeing me returning, asking me how I was and how the day had been. I did not want to taint her innocence by telling her about what happened in the centre of the village, so I merely told her that everything was alright.

But the next evening there was a knock on our door. I calmly told Batora to stay out of sight with Umbra while I dealt with the unexpected guests, seeing that the angel and Sir Thomas were standing in front of me with many of the villagers observing from a distance.

Cassandra grabbed me by my arm without saying anything, throwing me to the ground. "This boy is no boy at all!" she affirmed. "This boy is a demon!"

I remained as calm as always. She had no proof that I was indeed a demon, after all.

"What makes you believe I am a demon?" I asked her as innocently as I could.

"You have no family, Sebastian Michaelis," the white-haired woman pointed out. Clearly she had learned my adopted name from one of the villagers who had accused me.

"I believe my parents were killed," I defended. "I have no memory of them myself, but my adoptive parents told me much about them. Unfortunately those new parents were put to death, and now my only family is the young Jigoku who I raised as my own sister. Was that impure of me, to raise an orphaned child?"

"The Jigokus were involved with witchcraft!" I heard one of the villagers yell. "They came from a foreign land and brought their magic with them! They have infected this village with demonic parasites like you, Sebastian!"

"I did not come from their land," I calmly reminded the man who had spoken. "I lived in this village. Clearly none of you paid attention to me when I was begging in the streets and dying of disease. I had no involvement with any evil possibly committed by the Jigokus, but know that their daughter is not like them. She has been raised here in England."

"Every demon has a master when they appear on Earth," Cassandra told Sir Thomas and the villagers. "The young girl he speaks of must be the one who summoned him. Bring her out here!"

Remaining relaxed would only make me appear suspicious, so I reacted as any good brother would. I clenched my teeth together and glared at the angel, blocking the entrance to my home. "You will not touch my sister!" I snapped. As expected, Sir Thomas pushed me aside and Cassandra grabbed me by the arms to hold my back. I fought against her grasp but not with all of my strength, watching as Sir Thomas entered my hut. "Batora!" I called out to her.

Sir Thomas dragged Batora out and threw her to the ground. I continued to thrash here and there in Cassandra's grip, forcing myself to look as worried as possible. Batora looked at me with fear and worry. "Sebastian!" she cried, sounding both worried for me and afraid for herself.

"A demon's master is always marked with a contract symbol," Cassandra explained. I found it quite peculiar how she knew so much about demons; it was rather suspicious, in fact. "The mark should be somewhere on her body," she continued. "Find it!"

While on the surface I appeared angry and hateful, I truthfully felt no concern. I knew that Batora was not marked, for she was not the one to originally summon me. I was still bound to her deceased parents, and I would be until the day of Batora's death.

Sir Thomas stripped Batora and prevented her from covering herself with her hands. He had to look all over her if he wished to find the contract seal. But he found nothing. Turning to Cassandra, he said: "There is no mark, my lady."

Cassandra frowned almost as if she had previously been given false information regarding myself and Batora. I then turned to her and said with pleading eyes: "I told you she was innocent, now leave her be!" It was quite clear that the angel was not done yet, and I had definitely underestimated her knowledge.

"Perhaps she is innocent," she agreed before narrowing her violet eyes. "But that does not mean you yourself are innocent, Sebastian." She was the one to do what Sir Thomas had done to Batora, and she had exposed me so quickly that I had no time to react. The contract seal was visible on my chest.

I heard the villagers gasp, Sir Thomas gasping among them. Cassandra was the only one who did not seem at all surprised as she revealed me to the crowd. "The mark!" she bellowed. "This is the mark of a demon!"

She threw me to the ground and I then heard the sound of something being drawn out, like a weapon sliding out of its sheath. I turned my head only to see that Cassandra was holding a weapon not created by humans, but a weapon which had existed for thousands of years. She was holding the sword known as Laevateinn.

"This is a sword the Creator has gifted me with," Cassandra announced, although I believed she had obtained it differently to how she described. "It has the power to permanently destroy a demon such as this one here. Observe!" The angel raised the sword and prepared to pierce it through my back, but it was at this moment that I decided to resort to taking drastic measures. Unlike nowadays, my lord, I used to be quite the vicious predator, and at any given opportunity I would make humans tremble before me. Many demons flaunted their abilities in ancient and medieval times, but recently our interest in frightening humans has... declined.

My eyes flashed pink and I swiped Cassandra off her feet with my leg. Feathers began to engulf me as I slowly raised myself up onto my feet. Bones cracked as I grew taller, with black shoes with pointed heels on my feet. Large black wings tore out of my back and my black nails grew sharp and long. My black hair also grew in length, but not long enough to give me a disadvantage. My skin darkened and I licked my lips before revealing my sharp fangs which now replaced my human teeth. I leaped into the air, landing on the hut which I once falsely called my home, my wide eyes hungrily draining the fear from every villager before me. Nobody in this village had ever once seen a demon as much as they enjoyed making their accusations, so I was letting the image of one sink into their mind.

"If you want to kill a demon then you should refrain from revealing your fatal intentions," I advised the angel, my voice low and gruff but confident nonetheless. I then turned my attention to the trembling souls who could only stare at me in fear, too stunned to flee. "Yes, it is indeed true. I am a demon. Are you satisfied to have exposed me like this, or are you now regretting your choice to make accusations against me?"

I spread my wings to their full length, with an explosion of feathers following from the action as the sky grew dark. Many villagers fell to their knees in pure fear, and I could see how desperate Cassandra was to spread her own white wings to fly up and strike me, but she was too determined to maintain a human facade.

My voice boomed as I continued to speak. "I've allowed myself to starve for fourteen years so that I could savour the soul promised to me by Daisuke and Sayaka Jigoku. When they were put to death they commanded me to protect their daughter, and on the day of her death I could feast on her soul. Unfortunately, given the circumstances this young lady has put me under, I have no choice but to attend dinner early."

I swooped down and grabbed Batora with my clawed hands, flying up into the sky with her. She almost hadn't quite processed what was happening and looked awfully confused, but when I landed with her in a nearby tree the reality seemed to sink in for her. Her green eyes filled with tears and I could sense the fear coming from her as her heart began to beat faster and faster. She began to weep in my grasp, turning her head to face away from my unsightly appearance. "Sebastian," she sobbed. "Stop, please!"

Of course, I did not listen. I had feasted on both the willing and the unwilling for years. So I held Batora against the tree's trunk and licked my lips with hunger; it had been so long since my last meal.

Unfortunately I had forgotten all about the angel. I prepared to devour Batora's soul, but I had no time to react as Cassandra flew by and struck my wings with her sword. I let out a rather inhuman screech as I fell to the ground, with Batora falling with me. There was blood seeping from my wound and I will admit, I could actually feel pain.

Cassandra pointed Laevateinn at me, and I could see my own blood dripping from the point. "It's over for you, demon," she spat. I was fully prepared to defend myself and destroy her, but something unexpected happened.

Batora lunged for Cassandra with tears still in her eyes. She grabbed her by the arms and used all of her strength to try pushing the sword to point in a different direction. Cassandra scowled, baring her teeth with fury as she glared down at the green-eyed human who I would once refer to as my sister.

"You foolish girl!" the angel barked. "You are defending the very beast which seeks to consume your soul! He may have played the convincing role of a guardian to you, but this is his true nature! He is a demon! A filthy, unclean demon!"

"I don't care!" Batora cried out. "I would have died a long time ago if it wasn't for him... He may not be my brother or a good person, but he still protected me until now!"

"He protected you because you were always his meal!" Cassandra snapped back at her. "You heard his confession; your parents promised your soul to him long ago, and now he has finally decided to devour it!"

Batora was able to push Cassandra back slightly, but her strength didn't allow her to shove her to the ground. Tears were streaming down her cheeks as she took a few steps back, her body still shaking from the fear I put into her. "I don't like this world," she admitted quietly. "I... I have never liked this world. Every day I would be pushed into the dirt and kicked until I was bruised. I would have rocks thrown at me. Why? Because I was foreign? Because I had green eyes?" For the first time, I saw Batora clench her fists. "Your wings... You claim to be of the heavens. You claim to work on behalf on God. You're an angel, right? Then why do you let bad things happen?! Why was I punished for being a witch when I have done nothing wrong?!"

Something was not quite right. I could feel Batora's soul... changing. It was almost as if encountering supernatural beings such as angels and demons had ignited something inside her. She was becoming angry. She was becoming hateful. It was making her... lose her taste.

I watched her fall to her knees, trying to contain her heavy weeping by closing her eyes tightly and gritting her teeth together. "Why...? Why me...? What have I ever done wrong...? I've never hurt anybody... I've been nice to everyone... So why do they call me a witch?!"

"The demon has made you impure," Cassandra hissed. "He has tainted your vulnerable mind with his unclean ways! So move aside and let me purify him by ending his miserable life!"

I could hear Batora crying softly, but suddenly a smile formed upon her face despite her tears continuing to pour down her face. She lifted her head to face the angel as she said: "I can't live without my brother."

"He's not your brother!" Cassandra yelled. "He is a demon!"

"I know," Batora murmured, then turning her head so that she was facing me. "Sebastian... No... Whoever you are... I have no place in this world... I will never find love if everyone sees me as a witch... I will never have children, and if I do they will be bullied and hurt... I will never be able to make money because nobody will want me to work... I... I understand all of that... so... take my soul... Nobody else cares for it, anyway..."

For a moment I was stunned at her change of heart, although her soul still lacked the taste I was preparing for. However, I grinned and nodded my head as this was an offer no demon could possibly refuse. "As you command, dear sister," I said to her in a somewhat insulting tone of voice. Cassandra scowled and ran forwards with her sword, which I swiftly avoided. "It's rude to interupt somebody's meal, Lady Cassandra," I told her before grabbed Batora and flying away with her in my arms. I had to find a private spot where no one would disturb me from my feast.

I landed beside a river after a few minutes of flying. I set Batora down and she looked away from me, refusing to give me eye contact. I could see the sad look in her eyes, but it was no concern of mine; I was just pleased that she was being a little more cooperative.

"This will be rather painful," I informed her.

"I guessed that..." Batora sighed, still refusing to face me. "But before you... well... do that... I... I have a question..."

"Go ahead," I responded. "Ask me anything."

Finally, Batora lifted her head to look at me. "Was it all pretend?" she asked. I stared at her with no emotion in my expression.

"If you're asking me if I was pretending to be your brother, then yes," I answered. She shook her head.

"You were always so kind to me," she said. "You protected me even if you got yourself hurt in doing so. You would take care of me when I was wounded or sick. You were... so much better than a normal big brother and I thought I was lucky to have you. ...Was all of that just a lie?"

"Yes," I told her simply. I almost felt her young heart break as her head slowly drooped.

"Oh..." she reacted. She glanced up at me one more time. "Well... When this is over... can you check on Umbra for me? Please?"

I was not smiling; I was frowning. "I will," I told her, suddenly digging my nails into her shoulder and using my other hand to grab her face, forcing her to look at me. Her eyes went wide with pure fear, and initially I assumed she was afraid of death. But that was not the cause for her worried expression.

"S-Sebastian!" she yelled. I turned my head to see what she was looking at, and I expected to see the angel behind me. I instead saw something else. A man with golden eyes shot webs from his fingers - a move I was completely unprepared for. The webs cut me as though they were made of steel, but that was not the worst part. There were only a few trees nearby, but this man used them to his advantage so that he could quite literally catch me in a human-sized spider's web.

The man calmly readjusted his glasses and stared at me with no emotion in his gaze, and mere moments later I saw the angel land at his side.

"No more running away," she commanded. I narrowed my eyes at her but remained calm; the web was not strong enough to contain me.

"You conspired with a demon," I noted, seeing that the angel stood beside the man as though he were an ally. He was no angel himself, and while he did look similar to a Grim Reaper, his powers suggested otherwise.

"The world is full of them," Cassandra replied to my accusation. "There are too many demons feasting on human souls. Because you demons are so good at hiding yourselves from us angels, I did what was necessary - I sought help from one of your own kind who agreed to help reduce the number of demons in return for souls to devour."

I allowed myself to smirk. "Does that not make you unclean yourself?" I mocked. I could see that Cassandra was offended by the remark.

"I am doing what is right!" she roared. "I am reducing the population of demons in this world!"

"But a demon is helping you," I reminded her. "It seems that it's not just humans who summon demons for help."

Cassandra once again pointed her sword at me. "Enough of your mockery, demon!" she bellowed. "Tonight you will vanish from existence forever!"

"I highly doubt that," I responded, easily freeing myself from the web. But once again Cassandra was able to wound me with her weapon.

"Claude!" she yelled. "This demon is wounded enough. I can finish him; take that human for your feast; nobody will miss her, and it can be blamed on this demon here."

I was about to run after the other demon, Claude, but Cassandra grabbed me and held me back. She slashed my wings and my legs, but it was clear that she did not intend to kill me just yet; she wanted me to watch Batora lose her soul first.

"Sebastian!" Batora wailed, sounding as though she still somehow cared about me. Claude dashed over and grabbed her by her neck, lifting her up. Using his other hand, he whipped off his glasses and his eyes flashed pink. I bared my teeth in anger as I could sense that her soul was already being drained.

There was no time to tackle Claude, for he would ultimately win the battle and would still devour Batora's soul, and as a demon I was too proud to allow another creature to take what I had already claimed. So I chose to do something which took less time than consumption. I ignored the pain from my wounds and launched myself towards Batora, latching onto her and sinking my teeth into her neck after causing Claude to drop her. He reacted swiftly by swinging his leg to kick my chest, and that one move caused me to let go. Batora, meanwhile, had immediately fallen unconscious.

Claude turned his attention to Batora and was about to reach down to grab her, but then he froze. Cassandra noticed this and glowered at him.

"What's the matter?" she asked him.

"Her soul can no longer be consumed," Claude answered softly while pushing his glasses back onto his face. I grinned triumphantly.

"I have abandoned my contract with my former masters," I announced. "Since you were both so eager to get in the way of my meal, I will need to alter my reservations." With that, I allowed myself to vanish in a whirlwind of black feathers.

Cassandra glanced at Batora, who was still unconscious. She briefly looked at Laevateinn before turning to face Claude. Claude simply stared at Batora for a little longer before facing Cassandra. "Kill her with that sword," he instructed. Cassandra knew what Claude was implying regarding what had happened to the girl, so she nodded her head and walked towards her.

What do you suppose happened next, my lord?

 **~End of Chapter~**


	3. Chapter II

**~Chapter II~**

Claude and Cassandra could have killed her, and I was well aware of that. However, I no longer had any interest in Batora. Her soul had been spoiled, and she would have become Claude's feast instead of mine if I had not turned her into a demon. It was up to her if she wished to survive. I, at this point, had nothing to do with her.

From what I later learned, Cassandra was dangerously close to Batora's unconscious body when the latter suddenly awakened. Her formerly-green eyes were now scarlet red, but they went from red to demonic pink in an instant. I heard her terrifying screech even when I was in my own dimension. She had sprung up to her feet and slashed her long black nails down Cassandra's front, catching her face and chest and making her bleed. Cassandra hissed and dropped the sword in response to Batora's swift attack.

"You vile creature," she spat. "Assist me, Claude! Remember what you're helping me do!"

Claude did not protest. By helping Cassandra reduce the population of demons, he would be free to devour any souls he pleased. That was an offer no demon would refuse; this was during a time when so many demons existed, meaning that there was much competition.

As Claude made an attempt to attack Batora from behind, the young girl turned and kicked him in the side of the head. Nothing she was doing was a conscious action; she was merely being swayed by her rush of sudden demonic instincts. But unfortunately she was still new to her power and did not know how to enter her true form.

For a good few minutes Batora had been defending herself rather well for a newly-awakened demon, especially considering the fact that she was once somebody so weak, but as she began to regain control of herself she also weakened and grew tired. That gave Cassandra and Claude the advantage.

Claude delivered a blow to Batora's back, causing her to fall to the ground. He stepped back to allow Cassandra all the space she may need as the angel prepared to kill the young demon, but Claude picked up on a sound which grew louder and louder.

"The mob is coming," he announced, still in his soft but vacant voice.

"Then let's do this quickly," Cassandra responded as she raised Laevateinn. "Once we destroy this one, you may choose a soul to feast upon. Then we will search for Sebastian."

Claude nodded his head, but unfortunately white wings were not enough for Cassandra to convince the mob with. When they saw her, alongside the golden-eyed demon, they immediately assumed they were both monsters. They, for once, came to Batora's aid, since previously she had been seen as innocent due to having no contract seal on her body. In fact, Sir Thomas rushed forward and immediately tried to strike Cassandra with a sword of his own, feeling betrayed that the woman had fooled him.

"Begone, you demons!" he yelled at the pair. "Leave this girl be!"

"No!" Cassandra snapped. "You mortal fools, can you not see? The girl is a demon!"

"She is innocent," Sir Thomas growled. "Did we not already prove this, you fiend?!"

"I am no liar, Sir Thomas!" Cassandra shot back at him.

"Leave her!" Sir Thomas roared. The villagers began hurling sticks and stones at the pair.

"We should let them deal with her," Claude said to Cassandra calmly, albeit with slight irritation. "I've seen demons die at mortal hands in the past. Once they see her for who she is now, they will kill her."

"This is not over," Cassandra hissed.

"No," Claude agreed, "but it will be over for her very soon."

At that point, I believe the duo fled. Sir Thomas wrapped Batora with a blanket and carried her back to the village, returning her to her home and providing her with some more clothes and some food. It was almost nice to think that I had finally given her the life she wanted, since this was the first time the villagers had accepted her as one of their own, but I knew it was not to last. Not only that, but I couldn't be happy knowing that my meal was permanently spoiled. Still, at this point Batora was not my concern, but she would reappear in my life very soon.

Batora was the one who told me what happened next. A few days went by as normal, only she was being treated kindly by the other villagers, but on one fateful day one small flash in her eyes led to her ultimate change.

As she was purchasing goods, her eyes went from green to demonic pink, and only for a very brief moment. However, it wasn't quick enough to go unnoticed. The shop owner panicked and called her out for being "a witch after all", and other villagers soon followed on like sheep.

"No, I'm not a witch!" Batora cried out, stepping back away from the villagers who approached her. But it was becoming much harder for her to hide herself. Her green eyes permanently switched to red, her new natural eye colour. Her nails had always been black, but only now did the villagers associate this trait with the supernatural. Knowing that she had no way of reasoning with the rest of the village, Batora sprinted as fast as she could to flee. She darted through the village, but before she left she remembered one more thing: Umbra.

Batora could not leave Umbra behind. She loved that cat, and she knew that he would be harmed by the villagers if they found him, so she ran into her small home and called for him until he made his presence known.

"Umbra!" she gasped, grabbing him and holding him close to her chest. "Come, Umbra, we must leave!" Batora was back on her feet, but when turning to the exit she found that it was too late for her by that point. There stood the mob, and Sir Thomas was at the front.

"We shouldn't have been fooled by you," he spat. "We should have believed in Cassandra's words."

"No, please!" Batora begged. "I'm not a witch, I-I really don't know what's going on!"

"Drag her to the pyre!" Sir Thomas hollered. "And kill her familiar so that it does not deliver any messages to the demons of Hell!"

Sir Thomas disappeared into the crowd, presumably to go and prepare the pyre himself, while other villagers grabbed Batora and shook her violenty, some even beating her with large sticks or perhaps even poking her with their pitchforks. In the confusion she dropped Umbra, and then she heard the screech only a dying cat would produce. With her red eyes now wide, Batora found herself looking at Umbra, who now lay twitching on the ground as one villager twisted his pitchfork and ripped it out of his body. Umbra's own eyes were wide and his mouth hung open, and Batora watched in despair as his eyes half-closed and glazed over, with blood now surrounding his body. There he was, the cat she had tried to save, dead before her very eyes.

Batora hadn't even realised just how much she was being beaten until she was no longer looking in Umbra's direction. Instead, she was being repeatedly struck to the face with sticks, stones and shoes. She wasn't even crying at this point. She wasn't screaming. She wasn't doing anything. Only when she was dragged out of her hut did she finally react. Glancing over her shoulder, she could see the pyre which Sir Thomas stood beside, torch in hand. It suddenly dawned on her that this pyre was for her, and these villagers intended to burn her there.

That was when her mind returned to reality and she started to thrash and scream, shrieking out words which even she couldn't understand. Nobody knew what she was saying, all they knew was that she was begging to be spared. But the more she screamed, the more violent the villagers became. Her young body was beaten, bloody and bruised; as she was thrown before Sir Thomas she even had her hair sliced and pulled at, causing her scalp to bleed and her hair to go from wavy and long to short and disastrous. She did not look like a demon at all, instead looking like a weak little girl.

Sir Thomas grabbed her and dragged her to be tied to the wooden mast, and it was at this point Batora became too frightened to react. All she did was listen to the yells of the villagers. Even Sir Thomas' speech was difficult for her to understand. The ringing in her ears did not help, for she had been beaten so much that she was practically deaf. She was well aware that Sir Thomas was saying something about witches and demons, but she had no idea when he was concluding his speech. Her vision was blurry, but she was able to see the flame of Sir Thomas' torch coming closer. She wriggled in the ropes when realising that he was lowering the flame , and suddenly the pyre went up in flames at her feet. The angry yells of the villagers became cheers and chants as Batora wailed like a dying banshee. She could feel the flesh around her legs melting in the heat. This was it, she thought. This would be her end.

Thoughts ran through her mind. She recalled suddenly being overwhelmed with hatred and anger. These people had always done wrong to her, but now they had gone too far, it seemed. They were actually trying to kill her. They had killed her feline companion. She had been abandoned by the man she thought was her brother.

Without even realising it, Batora's wails became demonic howls of fury. The surrounding villagers grew worried, and Sir Thomas instructed them to get back. He knew that something wasn't right. And, suddenly, the pyre combusted. A fiery explosion occurred, unlike one many in this village had ever seen before, and black feathered wings spread through the flames dramatically. Glowing pink eyes could be seen, and as the flames died down, there stood a demon. A demon covered mostly with black fur, with sharp fangs and cat-like ears along with a long tail. Claws protruded from her fingers, which she uses to fight away the surrounding debris. Her terrifying gaze locked onto the villagers; each and every one of them was going to die.

"A demon!" Sir Thomas cried, pointing his finger at Batora. "The girl is a demon!"

Batora's hateful scowl had suddenly become a horrific grin as she chuckled lowly to herself. Her cat-like tail swished from side to side as she straightened her back, standing with the confidence she never had in her human life.

"A demon I am," she agreed calmly. "Well, a demon now, at least. I was perfectly human before now, but it's not like any of you would care about the wrongs you did to me."

She stepped closer, her eyes locked onto the terrified Sir Thomas. "Born from the flames," she said as she licked her black lips and then her fangs. "What a scene it must have been for you to witness, Sir Thomas! A demon does indeed deserve to be born in such a powerful force."

"Stay back, you vile beast!" Sir Thomas commanded, fear evident in his voice.

"You have no power to make me follow your orders," Batora grinned, stopping just before him. Her smile faded and again she was frowning with hate burning behind her eyes. She made sure she looked at every last person. Man. Woman. Child.

Everyone in this village would die at her hands.

"Vile?" she repeated Sir Thomas' words. "You have the nerve to call me vile when you always accused me of being an enemy?"

"Look at you!" Sir Thomas hissed. "Our suspicions were not wrong!"

"Now what?" Batora cut in, glancing down at him. "What comes after exposing a real monster? Do you expect an award from God?" She allowed herself to chuckle again. "Foolish peasant. After all of those executions, you never once dealt with a true witch. Now you are at my mercy."

"Go ahead and kill me," Sir Thomas snarled. "You will be punished." Batora, again, cackled with amusement.

"Again, you are such a fool!" she mocked. "Nobody will punish me. Look at all of the power I now have. I don't even have a soul to be judged." The female demon paced slowly away from Sir Thomas, giving him the impression that she was sparing him just to defy his commands. He watched as she approached a rose bush, plucking out a red rose while not even reacting to the thorns sticking into her hands. She exaggerated her actions as she sniffed the flower, taking in its scent before exhaling loudly. "Roses are such wonderful flowers," she commented. "They appear like any other delicate flower, but when you decide to rip it out of its comfort one and threaten its life, its thorns sting you and make you bleed." Her eyes glowed and widened in a way which made her face look more terrifying than it already was. "Unfortunately, you have fallen into the rose bush itself, and you have dragged everybody in this village with you."

Sir Thomas had no time to react when the whole village went up in flames. Nothing could stop it. It just happened in a literal blink of an eye. The villagers attempted to flee, but the flames had trapped them and engulfed them within seconds, so they were merely left rolling around on the floor or running in search of water. Batora stood and watched in amusement, dropping the rose to the ground. The fire did not do any damage to it at all, and after a few more moments of standing with a smirk on her face, Batora wandered through the flames and left the village to burn to the ground, not sparing a single villager. Sir Thomas' soul was the only one not to be properly released, however, as Batora had decided to feast upon that one as it attempted to leave his body. Batora didn't even know if it was a conscious decision or not; she just recalled absorbing something from Sir Thomas which felt hateful and fearful.

As she left the village, Batora's true form faded into something more human. However, she was not like you, my lord. She did not keep her original mortal appearance. Instead, she decided to longer appear as a young Asian girl. Her face would forever remind her of her past weakness, and she did not want to remember her mortal self. Instead, she chose to become what she always wished she was when she was human: she became an English girl. Her skin was fair, as if it had never been touched by sunlight, but her raven hair made for quite the pleasing contrast. She no longer kept her green eyes, instead wearing her scarlet ones proudly. She wore clothes you'd expect a wealthy medieval man to wear, yet they did not make her appear extremely masculine. As for her facial structure, it seemed that she had tried hard to mimic my own. She was using my face as a reference, but of course she still looked much more like a young girl instead of a mature man.

This was the new Batora. In all honesty, it was almost as if the old Batora had been killed. I can assure you, human Batora and demon Batora would never get along. It's truly bizarre, really, how some humans become so different when converted.

But it's not over yet, my lord. Batora left the mortal realm to find me in the demonic dimension, and that is where her true story begins. Her story of how she rose to power as a human-born demon, to how she brought about her own end. Hopefully you will not be as foolish, young master; I advise that you don't look to Batora as a role model, but instead merely as an example of what humans can become when converted. I'm sure you will see her fatal flaws without me having to point them out to you.

 **~End of Chapter~**


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